Divock Origi’s strike was Liverpool’s 39th winning goal scored in or after the 90th minute in the Premier League, at least 13 more than other sideLiverpool substitute Divock Origi scored a last-minute winner to sink Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux as the Reds continued their superb form in the Premier League.
With seconds remaining, Origi latched on to a Mohamed Salah pass, smashing the ball beyond Jose Sa in the Wolves goal.
His goal sparked wild celebrations from the visiting players, while Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp ran straight to the centre circle to hug the striker after the full-time whistle.
Klopp then told BBC Radio 5 Live he thought Origi “was a legend”, saying he hoped “people will write books about him” as he acknowledged the Belgian’s cult hero status at Anfield.
The win meant Liverpool briefly went top, leapfrogging Chelsea, who lost 3-2 to West Ham in Saturday’s early kick-off, but they returned to second after Manchester City beat Watford 3-1.
Defeat was cruel on Wolves, who had defended heroically for 94 minutes and were 60 seconds away from becoming the first team to stop Liverpool scoring this season.
Wolves 0-1 Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp says it was great to win such a difficult gameReds go top in dramatic fashionLiverpool came into this match in blistering form, having scored at least twice in each of their past 18 matches and scoring 14 times in their past four.
But for most of the afternoon, it looked as if they would be denied in front of goal for the first time since drawing 0-0 with Real Madrid last April.
In the first half, former Wolves forward Diogo Jota headed a deep cross narrowly off target while Romain Saiss produced a superb sliding tackle to deny the Reds’ Salah a tap-in.
And in the second period, Liverpool continued to dominate as Thiago was denied by a combination of Raul Jimenez and Sa before Jota missed a huge opportunity, seeing an effort blocked on the line by Conor Coady with the keeper stranded.
It looked as if that would be the game’s best chance but the Reds kept up the pressure and were awarded for their attacking intent with just one minute of stoppage time remaining when Origi broke the deadlock with his fourth goal of the season.
Wolves firm in defenceSpirited defensive efforts have become a regular habit for Wolves who boast the third-best defensive record in the Premier League and were seconds away from a fourth clean sheet on the bounce.
Wolves 0-1 Liverpool: Bruno Lage says conceding injury-time winner ‘part of football’As they were cheered on by a boisterous home crowd on a cold afternoon in the West Midlands, the hosts were content to sit back and rarely threatened going forward. Wolves managed just three shots compared to Liverpool’s 17.
Bruno Lage may look towards his attackers as one area to improve upon going forward.
Wolves, who have Chelsea and Manchester City to face before Christmas, have now failed to score in eight of their 15 league games this season.
Defeat sees them remain in eighth, six points off the top four and 11 clear of the relegation zone.
Player of the match
OrigiDivock Origi
with an average of 7.38
Wolverhampton WanderersSquad number16Player nameCoady
Squad number9Player nameJiménez
Squad number37Player nameTraoré
Squad number8Player nameRúben Neves
Squad number11Player nameTrincão
Squad number23Player nameKilman
Squad number27Player nameSaïss
Squad number3Player nameAït-Nouri
Squad number22Player nameNélson Semedo
Squad number28Player nameJoão Moutinho
Squad number1Player nameJosé Sá
Squad number26Player nameHwang Hee-Chan
Squad number32Player nameDendoncker
Squad number2Player nameHoever
LiverpoolSquad number27Player nameOrigi
Squad number7Player nameMilner
Squad number11Player nameMohamed Salah
Squad number26Player nameRobertson
Squad number14Player nameHenderson
Squad number4Player namevan Dijk
Squad number66Player nameAlexander-Arnold
Squad number1Player nameAlisson
Squad number6Player nameThiago Alcántara
Squad number10Player nameMané
Squad number32Player nameMatip
Squad number20Player nameDiogo Jota
Squad number3Player nameFabinho
Squad number15Player nameOxlade-Chamberlain
Line-upsWolvesFormation 3-4-3
1Malheiro de Sá
23Kilman16Coady27Saïss
22Nélson Semedo8Neves32Dendoncker3Aït-Nouri
37Traoré9Jiménez26Hwang Hee-Chan
1Malheiro de Sá23Kilman16Coady27Saïss22Nélson Semedo8Neves32DendonckerBooked at 26mins3Aït-NouriSubstituted forHoeverat 90+2’minutes37TraoréSubstituted forMachado Trincãoat 89’minutes9JiménezBooked at 88mins26Hwang Hee-ChanSubstituted forJoão Moutinhoat 79’minutesSubstitutes2Hoever10Podence11Machado Trincão17Fábio Silva21Ruddy28João Moutinho39Cundle64Bueno77CampbellLiverpoolFormation 4-3-3
1Alisson
66Alexander-Arnold32Matip4van Dijk26Robertson
14Henderson3Fabinho6Thiago Alcántara
11Salah20Jota10Mané
1Alisson66Alexander-Arnold32Matip4van Dijk26RobertsonBooked at 66mins14HendersonSubstituted forOrigiat 68’minutes3FabinhoBooked at 62mins6Thiago Alcántara11SalahSubstituted forMilnerat 90+6’minutes20JotaSubstituted forOxlade-Chamberlainat 82’minutes10ManéSubstitutes5Konaté7Milner15Oxlade-Chamberlain18Minamino21Tsimikas27Origi47Phillips62Kelleher76N WilliamsReferee:Chris Kavanagh
Attendance:30,729
Live TextMatch ends, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0, Liverpool 1.
Second Half ends, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0, Liverpool 1.
Substitution, Liverpool. James Milner replaces Mohamed Salah.
Goal! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0, Liverpool 1. Divock Origi (Liverpool) left footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Mohamed Salah.
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Raúl Jiménez (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Ki-Jana Hoever replaces Rayan Aït-Nouri because of an injury.
Attempt saved. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Trincão replaces Adama Traoré.
Raúl Jiménez (Wolverhampton Wanderers) is shown the yellow card.
Offside, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Nélson Semedo tries a through ball, but Raúl Jiménez is caught offside.
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by José Sá.
Attempt saved. Sadio Mané (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner.
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Maximilian Kilman.
Attempt blocked. Divock Origi (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Trent Alexander-Arnold with a cross.
Substitution, Liverpool. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaces Diogo Jota.
Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by Virgil van Dijk.
Attempt missed. Divock Origi (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Diogo Jota.
Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. João Moutinho replaces Hwang Hee-Chan.
Attempt missed. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Sadio Mané.
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